Crash Course
Commerce, Agriculture, and Slavery: Crash Course European History
We've been talking a lot about kings, and queens, and wars, and religious upheaval for most of this series, but let's take a moment to zoom out, and look at the ways that individuals' lives were changing in the time span we've covered so...
TED Talks
TED: Open-sourced blueprints for civilization | Marcin Jakubowski
Using wikis and digital fabrication tools, TED Fellow Marcin Jakubowski is open-sourcing the blueprints for 50 farm machines, allowing anyone to build their own tractor or harvester from scratch. And that's only the first step in a...
TED Talks
TED: How quinoa can help combat hunger and malnutrition | Cedric Habiyaremye
On a mission to create a hunger-free world, agricultural entrepreneur Cedric Habiyaremye makes the case for cultivating quinoa -- and other versatile, nutrient-rich grains -- in places experiencing malnutrition, like his native Rwanda....
TED Talks
TED: The real hotbed of innovation (hint: it's not big cities) | Xiaowei R. Wang
To see and understand the countryside is a crucial part of moving towards a more livable future for everyone, says coder, artist and organizer Xiaowei R. Wang. They've observed that some of the most careful, thoughtful innovation is...
SciShow Kids
Where Does Frost Come From? | Winter Science | SciShow Kids
If you've ever gone outside really early on a cold day in fall, you might have seen a thin layer of sparkly ice crystals covering everything! That ice is called frost, and it can only form if the weather is exactly right!
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TED Talks
TED: The future of good food in China | Matilda Ho
Fresh food free of chemicals and pesticides is hard to come by in China: in 2016, the Chinese government revealed half a million food safety violations in just nine months. In the absence of safe, sustainable food sources, TED Fellow...
TED-Ed
The life cycle of a cup of coffee | A.J. Jacobs
How many people does it take to make a cup of coffee? For many of us, all it takes is a short walk and a quick pour. But this simple staple is the result of a globe-spanning process whose cost and complexity are far greater than you...
TED Talks
TED: 3 reasons why we can win the fight against poverty | Andrew Youn
Half of the world's poorest people have something in common: they're small farmers. In this eye-opening talk, activist Andrew Youn shows how his group, One Acre Fund, is helping these farmers lift themselves out of poverty by delivering...
TED Talks
TED: Goats, blockchain and the future of money | Fariel Salahuddin
What if smallholder farmers could use their produce and livestock to pay for goods and services? TED Fellow and alternative currency enthusiast Fariel Salahuddin is working to make this a reality in places including rural Pakistan, where...
TED Talks
TED: A global food crisis may be less than a decade away | Sara Menker
Sara Menker quit a career in commodities trading to figure out how the global value chain of agriculture works. Her discoveries have led to some startling predictions: "We could have a tipping point in global food and agriculture if...
TED Talks
TED: How we could eat real meat without harming animals | Isha Datar
What if you could eat chicken nuggets without harming a chicken? It's possible through "cellular agriculture," says Isha Datar. In a talk about cutting-edge science, she explains how this new means of food production makes it possible to...
TED Talks
TED: How urban agriculture is transforming Detroit | Devita Davison
There's something amazing growing in the city of Detroit: healthy, accessible, delicious, fresh food. In a spirited talk, fearless farmer Devita Davison explains how features of Detroit's decay actually make it an ideal spot for urban...
TED Talks
TED: A forgotten Space Age technology could change how we grow food | Lisa Dyson
We're heading for a world population of 10 billion people -- but what will we all eat? Lisa Dyson rediscovered an idea developed by NASA in the 1960s for deep-space travel, and it could be a key to reinventing how we grow food.
SciShow
The UAE's Martian City on Earth
The United Arab Emirates is planning an enormous colony on Mars, but first they are building the biggest Mars simulator right here on earth.
TED Talks
TED: How we can help hungry kids, one text at a time | Su Kahumbu
Su Kahumbu raises badass cows -- healthy, well-fed animals whose protein is key to solving a growing crisis in Africa: childhood nutritional stunting. With iCow, a simple SMS service she developed to support small-scale livestock...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Where will you be able to live in 20 years? | Carol Farbotko and Ingrid Boas
Humanity has always adapted to changing weather and moved to regions that best support cultural lifestyles and livelihoods. However, the rise in extreme weather is endangering coastal communities, and even for those with the resources to...
TED Talks
Lucy King: How bees can keep the peace between elephants and humans
Imagine waking in the middle of the night to an elephant ripping the roof from your house in search of food. This is a reality in some communities in Africa where, as wild spaces shrink, people and elephants are competing for space and...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Are locust plagues unstoppable? | Jeffrey A. Lockwood
A ravenous swarm stretches as far as the eye can see. It has no leader or strategic plan; its only goals are to eat, breed, and move on. These are desert locusts— infamous for their capacity for destruction. But most of the time desert...
SciShow
Are Ancient Grains Really Better For You?
Ancient grains like Spelt, Emmer, and Einkorn are making a comeback, but are they better for you than modern wheats? The answer is, as usual, not a simple 'yes' or 'no'.
TED Talks
TED: Why we need to imagine different futures | Anab Jain
Anab Jain brings the future to life, creating experiences where people can touch, see and feel the potential of the world we're creating. Do we want a world where intelligent machines patrol our streets, for instance, or where our...
TED Talks
TED: The taboo secret to better health | Molly Winter
Our poop and pee have superpowers, but for the most part we don't harness them. Molly Winter faces down our squeamishness and asks us to see what goes down the toilet as a resource, one that can help fight climate change, spur innovation...
TED Talks
Mohammad Modarres: Why you should shop at your local farmers market
The average farmer in America makes less than 15 cents of every dollar on a product that you purchase at a store. They feed our communities, but farmers often cannot afford the very foods they grow. In this actionable talk, social...
TED Talks
Laura Boykin: How we're using DNA tech to help farmers fight crop diseases
Nearly 800 million people worldwide depend on cassava for survival -- but this critical food source is under attack by entirely preventable viruses, says computational biologist and TED Senior Fellow Laura Boykin. She takes us to the...
SciShow
5 Ways Humans Have Changed The Earth
We are approaching a whole new era! . . .or at least a new epoch. Michael Aranda explains how humans are leaving their mark on the Geologic Time Scale.